Romeo Juliet; family (theme)

Quotes:
 Enter Chorus
Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (Prologue.1-4)
In the Prologue, the Chorus tells us that Romeo and Juliet is a play about domestic
conflict. "Two households" (that would be the Montagues and the Capulets), "both alike
in dignity" (of the same social standing) are going to be involved in a rather messy, and
uncivil family feud.

 CHORUS
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which, if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. (Prologue.5-14)
Here's a little more background for us: children from the feuding families are going to
meet and fall in love, putting an end to their families' strife—in the most tragic way
remotely possible.

 JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name,
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
(2.2.36-39)
Juliet struggles with the conflict between her feelings for Romeo and her knowledge that
he is an enemy of her family. She tries to separate Romeo from his identity as a
Montague, and contemplates deserting her family for him. She does not imagine that
their love and their families' opposition can be reconciled.
Pro tip: When Juliet asks "wherefore art thou Romeo," she's not wondering about
Romeo's physical location. "Wherefore" means "why" so, Juliet is basically asking why
the love of her life has to be Romeo Montague, the son of her family's enemy.
Romeo Juliet; family (theme)
The only family relationships shown are those between the Capulets. You can see
that children (especially girls) were not close to their parents and were expected to
be respectful and obedient to their parents' wishes. Real mothering was done by
servants like the nurse (who would have breastfed Juliet herself, because upper
class women didn't do that.) Rich parents weren't really involved in their childrens'
lives. They made arrangements for them and let them get on with it. However,
family loyalty was very important and if people were related they would claim love
and friendship even if they were relative strangers to each other. As a Capulet
Juliet would be expected to side with her family against the Montagues even
though she didn't know them or understand the feud, which had started long
before she was born.